Bargnani isn't worth the 1st overall pick, and never will he be a player you rely on in pressure/big-time situations. BUT, he is not a bust, he is a talented big who plays a non-typical game (perimeter), and has had a respectable NBA career. Unfortunately, this is a franchise that thought too highly of him, and put him in a position where quite frankly he's not best suited.

This is all on Colangelo. Could have drafted Rudy Gay originally with that number 1 pick, and so forth follows.

With that said, I personally think Bargnani has played his final game for the Toronto Raptors, and good luck to him. He can be successful, it's just not going to happen here.

Ha, might be great spin for an opposing team but as a Raptor fan I have fully prepared for being pissed off and disappointed with his impending awesome play.

Matt, I agree with what you say around these parts by like 98.7% I do disagree with your assessment on this one. Bargs WILL NOT thrive in another system / city / team / coach in the NBA. The game doesn't suit him in this league. So a change of scenery will help him discover "the game"? I think not.

The Raps have an amazing (big man) Asst. coach in Scott Roth (who's done wonders for Amir and Ed's game), Triano (who has international coaching experience (offensive minded as well) and Casey (who understood how to utilize Dirk in Dallas' defensive schemes). The result? Zilch, nada. He's done in this league.

“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” - Martin Luther King

Matt, I agree with what you say around these parts by like 98.7% I do disagree with your assessment on this one. Bargs WILL NOT thrive in another system / city / team / coach in the NBA. The game doesn't suit him in this league. So a change of scenery will help him discover "the game"? I think not.

The Raps have an amazing (big man) Asst. coach in Scott Roth (who's done wonders for Amir and Ed's game), Triano (who has international coaching experience (offensive minded as well) and Casey (who understood how to utilize Dirk in Dallas' defensive schemes). The result? Zilch, nada. He's done in this league.

He might not.

As a Raptor fan though I've learned to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

As a Raptor fan though I've learned to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.

Agreed. I cannot foresee a trading partner for him except GSW where they have Biedrins. Even if his elbow is like 90%, teams would rather just wait for him to be amnestied and then sign him.

“The saving of our world from pending doom will come, not through the complacent adjustment of the conforming majority, but through the creative maladjustment of a nonconforming minority.” - Martin Luther King

Ha, might be great spin for an opposing team but as a Raptor fan I have fully prepared for being pissed off and disappointed with his impending awesome play.

I know. It's so true. It's those visions of what he might be that bought him so much time here.

But who could get it out of him consistently? I'd say Pops, Thibs, Doc Rivers. Maybe George Karl. Houston might be a good fit (but I think Morey would stay away). The Lakers are probably a good fit. If he goes to any of those teams, I'm bracing myself. Any other team and I think we'd see pretty much what we saw here.

I know. It's so true. It's those visions of what he might be that bought him so much time here.

But who could get it out of him consistently? I'd say Pops, Thibs, Doc Rivers. Maybe George Karl. Houston might be a good fit (but I think Morey would stay away). The Lakers are probably a good fit. If he goes to any of those teams, I'm bracing myself. Any other team and I think we'd see pretty much what we saw here.

Bargnani in San Antonio would probably be the best fit. We know Pop's is known to play a guy 30 minutes one night, and a DNP the next. Based on what? Defensive and offensive efficiency. When Bargnani is efficient, and I stress WHEN, he's an amazingly valuable player. The trouble is 98% of this season he's just chucking bricks from outside 15 feet.

Yeah, I think Kleiza is a more rational amnesty candidate. If the Raps still have to pay a player (even if it is off the cap), Kleiza's contract is a lot more palatable. You COULD trade Kleiza, but you would likely just get equal value. Some sucker (ahem) brave GM will bite on Andrea's talent. At this point, any vet player who improves the locker room, has an expiring contract, and is serviceable in his role would be a positive.

Yeah, I think Kleiza is a more rational amnesty candidate. If the Raps still have to pay a player (even if it is off the cap), Kleiza's contract is a lot more palatable. You COULD trade Kleiza, but you would likely just get equal value. Some sucker (ahem) brave GM will bite on Andrea's talent. At this point, any vet player who improves the locker room, has an expiring contract, and is serviceable in his role would be a positive.

Kleiza's untradeable IMO...can't think of any possible team that would want him, and can't think of any reason why they would want him. Inconsistent shooting is big factor.

The best thing to do with junk is to throw it away, don't swap it for different junk. The money you wasted on the piece of junk is gone, time to move on.

Amnesty is the only smart move.

Ummmm, no.

The Raptors are in a position moving forward (assuming Gay and Lowry are extended) where the only way to add talent is via exceptions, minimum contracts, first round draft picks and TRADES.

If you can swap a different piece of junk that is better suited to Toronto, you take it. Then when that different piece of junk is expiring you have a method of adding talent to a team that may not be making a trade based purely on basketball reasons.

Amnestying Bargnani is ridiculous and I am not sure why people continue to propose it. Anyone can be traded which Arenas proved and Lewis/Hedo twice.

Bargnani isn't worth the 1st overall pick, and never will he be a player you rely on in pressure/big-time situations. BUT, he is not a bust, he is a talented big who plays a non-typical game (perimeter), and has had a respectable NBA career. Unfortunately, this is a franchise that thought too highly of him, and put him in a position where quite frankly he's not best suited.

I totally agree. If he was drafted 10th overall and been extended to the same contract(5 yr, 50 mil.), we wouldn't be having this conversation. The mistake Raptors made was see star potential in him and try to make him a star. The guy is tense due to all the pressure. I've never seen Bargnani this 'stiff' before. The only thing that can help him loosen up is a change in scenery.

I do get the feeling however that Bargnani has played his last game as a Raptor. If not traded, I think he'll be amnestied.

The best thing to do with junk is to throw it away, don't swap it for different junk. The money you wasted on the piece of junk is gone, time to move on.

Amnesty is the only smart move.

Even though he has made some bad moves, one thing BC can be given credit for is his ability to turn something bad into something OK. Turning Aroujo into Humphries, O neal into Marions expiring contract, Turkoglu into Barbosa are some examples.

There is no way Kleiza would not pick up his player option. He is in a state of delusion to think that he can still survive and play in the nba. BC is feeding that delusion by letting him travel with the team. It's bull.

It's not like we can do anything. BC's going to have to pull something straight out of his ass to fix this, rest assured that will be one of the financial promises that he must make in order to satisfy the MLSE board.